Close My Eyes and Hold My Breath
by Black Mage Yuna
Summary: Hinata is heir to the Hyuuga throne, if she can find a prince before her 18th birthday. When a coup is staged against their clan, Naruto saves her life, but Hinata ends up on the rebels' side! [AU, fluff, NaruHina] DISCONTINUED SORRY GUYS
1. Chapter 1

A/N:

Lizz: ZOMG First Naruto fic! Be gentle! Like my Lee-kun here! snuggles Rock Lee

Lee: Please... get... off...!

Lizz: Nevahh! Not til i get a decent amount of reviews!

Lee! Review! Save me!

Lizz: Hold still! ... Well, this story is AU, fluffy at times, possiblities for Lemon in later chapters, and plus, chock full of suprises! Now lets get started!

Lee: OO ... i wanna go. GAI SENSEI!

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-Chapter 1-

**Kidnapped**

Hyuuga Hinata was a princess. Her life was pretty cliche, She was born royal, and by her eighteenth birthday, she had to marry a prince so that one day, she could rule the Hyuuga's kingdom of Konoha. The whole royalty bit wasn't exactly her slice of cake, and there wasn't much to do around the castle. She spent her days at the estate's corral, pining to the horses about her love for a certain shinobi, Uzumaki Naruto. Hinata's father had hired him as a stable hand.Naruto was certainly not a prince. More or less, he was Konoha's villiage idiot. He had no parents, and all Hinata knew about the boy was that he carried the fox demon, the Kyuubi, inside of him. It scared her at first, but when she saw how kind he was to the horses, and how much her father liked him, she too saw the beauty inside of this unstable young boy.

One day soon before her eighteenth birthday, Hinata approached her father with the idea of marrying Naruto. Her father promptly shut it down, "According to the law, you must marry a prince. Uzumaki is anything but a prince."

"But, father," Hinata quietly spoke up, "I love him, and you want me to be happy, right?"

Hinata's father smirked, "If you can prove to me that he is worth my time, than do so."

Hinata gave a deep bow and shuffled out of the room.

Naruto was standing right around the corner. He knew he shouldn't have eavesdropped, but the moment he heard Hinata's beautiful voice, he stopped, and stooped over to listen. After the two Hyuuga's conversation, Naruto slouched against the wall and sighed, "She wants to marry me, but I'm nothing like a prince."

He saw Hinata walking down the hall toward him. Naruto raced to meet her, where he stood with her, holding her hands. "Hinata-san, you want to marry me?"

Hinata instantly blushed, and began stuttering, "I-I-I would l-like to, Nar-naruto-kun..."

Naruto hugged her, but suddenly began pulling her along, as he started into a run toward the castle doors.

"Naruto! Where are we going?" Hinata asked as soon as they burst out of the large wooden doors.

The blond boy replied by smliling back and laughing, continuing down the hill with her. Hinata was a little worried, but she knew that Naruto would never do her any harm. She had trouble keeping up with him, having to wear clumsy shoes that her father insisted upon being part of her everyday wardrobe. _'You're a princess, Hinata-chan, you must wear princess clothes,'_ she remembered him once saying to her.

Finally, they got to the bottom of a hill, near the edge of a small forest that was near the castle. Naruto crouched down, and pulled Hinata down with him. He peered through the bushes and looked around. "Naru-" Hinata spoke, but was hushed by Naruto.

"Be quiet. We don't want to startle them." Naruto whispered, still holding the princess's small hand.

Naruto then stood, and pulled Hinata up with him. He calmly walked around the bush, never letting go of her hand. They continued walking until they arrived at a small clearing, where it looked as though a campfire had been started and put out many times. A small tent was put up about 6 feet from the fire, pots sat outside on a towel, and there was a string of different clothes hanging between two trees to dry. _'This must be where Naruto-kun lives,'_ Hinata thought.

"Naruto, is-" Hinata started, though again, she was cut off by Naruto.

"Sasuke-kun! Where are you!" he called, pausing to listen for the faintest sound of footsteps.

A swishing in the trees could be heard, and Naruto smiled. A dark haired male, with a slender physique dropped down directly in front of the pair, which made Hinata jump back and scream a bit. He gave her a confused look, and smirking, asked, "So Naruto, this is Princess Hyuuga?"

Naruto nodded, "Mm-hmm. And get this, Sasuke, she wants to marry me, but she can't because-"

The boy called Sasuke finished his sentence, "because you're not a prince."

"Right." Naruto replied.

Sasuke put his hands in his pockets, and began circling her, checking her up and down. Hinata felt like a piece of meat. '_I hope Naruto knows what he's doing,'_ she shuddered.

"Hm?" Sasuke noticed her hesitancy toward him. He put an arm around her shoulder, and leaned in, "You're not _scared _of the great shinobi, Uchiha Sasuke, are you?"

Sasuke's breath was hot on her cheek. Hinata shook her head, and after a moment of Sasuke staring coldly at her, he released the princess from his hold, and said, "Yup, she'll be fine."

Naruto was still holding Hinata's hand. It seemed at this point like they were physically stuck together, connected at the palm. Hinata clutched to Naruto, and asked in a whisper, "What's going on?"

Naruto smiled at her, "You're gonna come with us!"

Her eyes widened, and she looked at Sasuke, frightened. "No, leave me to go back!"

Sasuke shook his head and sighed, "Hinata, we need your help."

She squeaked.

"Well, we're going to overthrow the king. It's time we got a Hokage back in charge. Konoha doesn't need a monarchy," Sasuke sat on a nearby rock, and laced his fingers together, "There is a coup of the greatest rebel shinobi already staged to come destroy the place in less than two hours. Naruto informed me that you were someone who we didn't want dead. You are innocent, and still have the potential for great fighting power, if you want to use it. So, in a sense, we're saving you from a gruesome death at the hand's of," at this point, Sasuke gave a light chuckle, "your love."

Hinata looked up at Naruto, who was trying to be comforting, but instead just seemed scary. She ripped her hand away from his, feeling the wind across her sweaty palm as she pulled back. Tears clung to the edge of her eyes, but when she tried to run, she was unable to move. She looked down, and a great shadow was over her. A male's voice spoke, "Let's not go running off to tell daddy, Miss Princess."

Hinata was shaking. The source of the voice walked toward her, his hands locked into a jutsu. The male had dark hair pulled back into a spikey ponytail. He knelt down beside her, and lifted her chin. He pushed her hair off of her forehead, revealing a large 'X' and two lines on underneath, the Hyuuga clan's cursed mark. He brought his lips to that spot, and kissed it. "Little Hinata, don't be afraid. Believe me, it can be quite fun at times."

Naruto laughed, giving her a thumbs up, "Believe it!"

Sasuke promptly hit Naruto across the back of the head with a pan, "Shut up, dobe..."

Naruto fell to the ground in the fetal position, rubbing his head, and sobbing.

The male with the ponytail went back to his conversation with the Hyuuga princess, "My name is Nara Shikamaru," he said calmly, "Come with us or you will surely die."

This scared the crap out of Hinata, and she found herself stuck between a rock and a hard place, metaphorically speaking. Time seemed to slow down, and she could hear the maid calling for her from near the castle. Shikamaru looked up, then back down at Hinata. He grunted, and grabbed Hinata with one arm. He stood up with her. "There's no more time, we're leaving with her, now."

Sasuke started collecting everything, shoving it into saddle bags for horses. Naruto ran off toward the stables, where he would get four of the Hyuuga's best horses. Shikamaru grabbed Hinata by the shoulders and looked into her face, "If you scream, you'll die."

Hinata nodded her head, and Naruto returned shortly with the horses. They all wrapped cloaks around themselves.Shikamaru helped Hinata up onto hers before getting onto his, Sasuke and Naruto also getting on. Each of the horses carried bags stuffed with supplies. Hinata's horse was tied to Shikamaru's. Sasuke led the group through the woods, staying off of the trail, in case the king sent someone after them before the troops came in to abolish the castle. The horses were moving at a slow gallop, through the woods that Hinata had never been to before.

They rode for several long hours, at times galloping at uncomfortable speeds, when the princess thought she'd surely fall off, though never did. Hinata was crying almost all of the trip, too. She thought too much. About what would happen to her, her family, Konoha. She even questioned her love for Naruto. Her mind fought back and forth, did she hate him for forming a coup against the Hyuuga clan, or did her love intensify because he chose to save her life? Either way, things would never be the same between them.

It was getting dark now, and Hinata shivered at the cold wind. It was September, meaning that the nights were getting to be freezing sometimes. Finally, in another forest, far away from Hinata's warm castle (which by now could be just dust and rubble, for all she knew), Shikamaru decided to set up camp.

Sasuke helped Hinata down from her horse, and began unpacking. Hinata wandered over to Naruto, and stared at him for a minute. Naruto was busy unpacking his own things, but looked up at her when she appeared. "Hey, Hinata, how are you?" he asked.

Hinata's eyes welled up, and the tears began streaking down her chin. She collapsed onto Naruto, and cried onto his shirt. The blond young man was suprised, but rubbed Hinata's back and let her cry. "Hina-chan, come on, it's okay, dattebayo," he tried to comfort her.

The princess curled up against Naruto and tried to ease her sobbing. Naruto gave Sasuke a "help me" sort of look, but both him and Shikamaru were trying to stifle their laughter.

Naruto sighed, and pulled Hinata off of him. "You will be just fine. You have to believe in yourself, and work with what you have! Do you think I'd be here today if I just took crap from everyone, 'ttebayo?"

Hinata wiped a few last tears from her eyes and forced a smile. _'Naruto-kun is trying to help, really, he is...'_ she told herself.

The Kyuubi holder stroked Hinata's cheek, and shifted so that he could continue un-packing. Everyone sat in silence whilst they finished putting up two tents, and other things. Shikamaru brought up the point that Hinata would have to sleep in his tent, since Naruto slept like a log, and couldn't keep watch on her. The boys agreed, although Hinata was anything but pleased.

Naruto was sent off to find wood for the fire, so the remaining three found four boulders to use as sitting rocks, and put them around the suggested spot for the campfire. Naruto returned ten minutes later, his arms full of sticks and logs. Sasuke started the fire with his special fireball jutsu, and the team sat around the fire, casually roasting marshmallows. Well, all of them except Hinata.

Hinata sat on the two-person sleeping bag in the tent she was to share with Shikamaru. She pulled her knees up to her chest, and looked out at the rebel group, sitting around, joking, while her family were surely dead. Outside, the 'party' was dying down, and Shikamaru poured water on the fire. She heard Sasuke and Naruto getting into their tents, and zipping it up.

Shikamaru crawled into the tent to see Hinata getting into the sleeping bag. He removed his shoes and shirt, and got in also. The hard ground she had to lay on just reminded Hinata of her bed, now turned to ash, which reminded her of her family, which got her bawling all over again. Shikamaru turned to face the princess. "Please don't cry, Hinata," he said, petting her hair.

Hinata flinched at his touch. Shikamaru pulled back. He sighed, and wrapped his arms around her, "I'll hold you," he offered, pulling her close.

The girl was hesitant. "I won't molest you, promise," Shikamaru reassured her.

Hinata needed someone to hold her, anyways. So she complied, burying her face in Shikamaru's chest. She cried softly, and the rebel leader stroked her hair again. He could feel her crying herself to sleep, her sobs were softening, and so he relaxed his muscles. Hinata let sleep overtake her, but Shikamaru couldn't relax enough to let himself for about another hour. Instead, he wondered if he'd done the right thing for Konoha, that'd been his intention the whole time. Do good. But look where it landed him. Holding a now orphaned princess, on the run from Anbu. He was screwed.

His worries faded out, and eventually, Shikamaru let himself sleep. He needed rest for tomorrow, when they would continue on their journey to the Hidden Sand Village, to seek help from a man named Gaara.

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A/N: Lizz: munches egg sammich That was it! Please review if you like it, and I'll continue. Well, I'll continue anyway, but Lee will be trapped forever in a bishi head lock! 

Lee: ;; someone save me...

Lizz: Thanks for reading! throws pocky to crowd of two readers

--Lizz--


	2. Chapter 2

A/N:

Lizz: Alrighty! Chapter Two! And guess what, I still have Rock Lee in a bishi headlock! So review! Really, i need the advice. If you read, i am begging you, review!

Lee: PLEASE! THINK OF ME! REVIEW!

Lizz: Haha, here we go!

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_Last Time..._

The girl was hesitant. "I won't molest you, promise," Shikamaru reassured her.

Hinata needed someone to hold her, anyways. So she complied, burying her face in Shikamaru's chest. She cried softly, and the rebel leader stroked her hair again. He could feel her crying herself to sleep, her sobs were softening, and so he relaxed his muscles. Hinata let sleep overtake her, but Shikamaru couldn't relax enough to let himself for about another hour. Instead, he wondered if he'd done the right thing for Konoha, that'd been his intention the whole time. Do good. But look where it landed him. Holding a now orphaned princess, on the run from Anbu. He was screwed.

His worries faded out, and eventually, Shikamaru let himself sleep. He needed rest for tomorrow, when they would continue on their journey to the Hidden Sand Village, to seek help from a man named Gaara.

-Chapter 2-

**Gotta Grow Up**

When Hinata woke up the next morning, Shikamaru was gone, and some new clothes were sitting on the sleeping bag next to her. _"Where did these come from?"_ she thought.

They were her size, and they were normal people's clothes.The princess assumed that they were for her, and changed into them. There was a light gray teeshirt, some shorts, ninja shoes, and leg wrappings. Hinata also noticed that there was a Konoha leaf forehead protector next to it all. They had been banned since the Hyuuga's took over Konoha. She put it on loosely around her neck, and tied it on like a necklace. She looked at her elegant dress she took off last night before going to bed, _"I've got to grow up. There is obviously no turning back now."_ she reasoned with herself.

Still, Hinata couldn't help but feel a little bit alone in this new world.

She left the tent to see the boys outside packing up again. "Thank you for the new clothes," she said to them, waiting for an answer. Shikamaru shrugged, "You needed new ones, so I got some. It's just necessary."

"And this?" she said, motioning to her headband.

Sasuke answered, "You're a rebel now." He pointed at his own headband, now in place.

Hinata started rolling up the sleeping bag from inside the tent, and then pulled out the dress and shoes. "Uhm, should I take these?"

Shikamaru nodded, "I've got a friend who'll take care of those a few miles from here."

"Right," she answered, and put them in a bag.

Naruto helped her bring down the tent, making small talk with her while they did so. Well, if you call small talk a form of interrogation. "Shikamaru didn't touch you did he? You aren't scarred for life, or anything? You didn't have nightmares?"

A blush ran across Hinata's face, and she assured him that nothing happened. It was so sweet of Naruto to care so deeply for her. She wondered how the blond got mixed up with people like Sasuke and Shikamaru.

- - -

They rode for about an hour and a half on horseback til they stopped in a small village. Shikamaru was greeted by a male with red triangle-shaped tatoos on his face, and a bunch of dogs. "Oi! Shikamaru-san!" he waved them over.

"Kiba!" Shikamaru got off his horse and told the man called Kiba about the clothes, and he said it'd be no problem to 'deal' with them.

Hinata assumed he meant destroy the evidence.

They didn't stay long, Sasuke, Naruto, and Hinata didn't even get off of their horses. Kiba gave Shikamaru some food packages (and some 'supplies' for Hinata, when necessary) for the road ahead, and they set off again.

It was a long day, with few stops, but according to Naruto, who was in charge of riding next to Hinata today, was a lot more often than usual. They didn't the food Kiba gave them, because they had to save it up for emergencies. Instead, they ate fish, rabbit, or even snake throughout the day if they were hungry.

At sunset, Shikamaru announced that they'd only have to travel one more day to get out of the Fire Country. Hinata was getting weary, and Naruto could see that. Naruto figured it'd be a while until he'd get to share a tent with Hinata. Mainly because it took so long for Shikamaru to trust someone, and at this rate, it'd be about a month until Shikamaru even thought about letting Hinata sleep in Sasuke's tent. Sasuke was just as watchful as Shikamaru, too!

_'I just don't want Shikamaru-san to hurt Hinata.'_ Naruto thought.

He reached over and patted Hinata's shoulder. Hinata looked over to the blond, "Naruto-kun..."

"You're so pretty, Hinata, 'ttebayo," Naruto smiled, "A real princess."

Hinata blushed again, and smiled at Naruto, "You're so sweet..."

Naruto thought about talking to Shikamaru about letting Hinata stay with him, but he wrote it off as soon as he reminded himself what a hard-ass he was about trust. Still, Naruto really wanted to be near her.

They stopped when it was really late. It'd been dark for hours, so Hinata figured it was around eleven or midnight. They set up tents and a fire. Everyone sat around the campfire this time. Hinata in between Naruto and Shikamaru, of course. They listened to Shikamaru explain the game plan for the next week. They'd stay the night and half of tomorrow here, cleaning up, washing clothes and whatnot. Then they would go to the nearest town, and get Hinata contacts.

"Contacts?" Hinata repeated.

"Yeah," Shikamaru stated, like he was saying 'duh', "Everyone knows those eyes are Hyuuga's. If we want to leave the Fire country alive, you're getting contacts."

Hinata sighed, and looked at her reflection in the bucket of water next to her, "Yeah."

After they got her contacts, they'd head to the the border, and go for about a week before getting to the Hidden Sand Village.

The team agreed on the plan, and everyone turned in for the night. Sasuke and Naruto in one tent, Shikamaru and Hinata in the other.

Hinata didn't cry that night, but let Shikamaru hold her anyways. Shikamaru needed someone, too. He had to keep up a tough image and be a leader of a rebel group, so he couldn't go around just hugging or crying when he felt like it. Instead, he'd latch onto Hinata, and run his fingers through her soft hair and stroke her cheek.

She didn't mind it, and it wasn't like he was hurting her. In fact, she sort of liked that he would love on her. Hinata didn't get much affection when she lived at home. She spent a lot of time with Naruto and the horses. It's how she stayed happy. So having Shikamaru kiss her forehead when he thought she was asleep was a very welcome change. Although, she'd always be loyal to Naruto, which she feared that Shikamaru might get angry about if he developed feelings for her.

But for now, it was fine. She'd deal with that silly problem when it came around. Besides, she felt relatively safe with Shikamaru, it was a safety that was comfortable, but dangerous, if there was such a thing.

- - -

The next morning, Hinata woke up before Shikamaru. She was pressed up against him, with one hand on his waist, and their legs intertwined. Shikamaru had his arms around her back tightly. She paused a moment, trying to figure out how to get out of the tent without waking him, but soon realized there was no way. So she did the best she could, first by trying to take his arms and move them off of her, which didn't work because he woke up the moment her hand moved off of his waist.

Shikamaru rolled away from Hinata, and sat up. He yawned, and Hinata moved to sit up. "Do you need to go bathe?" Shikamaru asked.

Hinata nodded, and crawled out of the tent. She was in her dress slip, which she decided to keep for pajamas, it was all she kept from the mansion, well, that and her undergarments. Shikamaru emerged soon after, and yawning, said, "There's some clean clothes in that bag." He pointed at a saddlebag hanging off of his horse.

Sasuke and Naruto were sitting by the campfire cooking ramen for breakfast. When Hinata crawled out, this immediately had caught Naruto's attention, and he stared at her to see what she was going to do next. Shikamaru took another set of clothes, a couple towels, and two bars of soap from a bag in the tent and began to follow Hinata to a small freshwater lake nearby.

Hinata paused, and turned around to look at him, "Uhm, Shikamaru-san, what are you doing?"

"Going to wash myself, you?"

"Well, I was... but if you are going to, then I'll wait."

"I'll be down there anyways. I have to keep an eye on you to be sure you don't run off."

At this point, Naruto was fuming. He stared at Shikamaru with jealousy burning in his eyes. Luckily, Sasuke had a good grip on Naruto's shirt, so he couldn't go charging after him.

"Naruto, you dobe," he tried to calm his friend down, "It's fine. Shikamaru won't do anything to her."

Naruto turned around to face him, "Oh, how do you know, Sasuke? How do you know that he doesn't molest her every night, and she's too afraid to talk about it!" he yelled at the Uchiha.

"Because I know Shikamaru-san! He wouldn't do that!" Sasuke snapped back.

While the boys were arguing, Naruto didn't even realize that Hinata and Shikamaru were nearly to the lake.

"You're not just going to watch me," Hinata stated.

"Yeah, yeah, I'll be too busy washing. Just shut up and go over there." Shikamaru replied. Hinata headed over to a seperate part of the lake, that still wasn't out of his view, but now he couldn't openly gawk at her.

She looked back to see what Shikamaru was doing, but instead of seeing him staring back at her, she saw his naked figure wading into the water. Hinata blushed madly, and quickly stripped and got in the water as well. She washed herself in a thoughtful silence. _'Just because we spend nights together doesn't mean he gets to watch me bathe.' _she thought, feeling a little violated.

Hinata finished washing before Shikamaru, and went behind a big, overturned log to dry and change. She came out from behind it, wearing a black tank top, a dark blue jacket, khaki shorts, and then her ninja accessories. She looked around for Shikamaru, but was instantly startled by his lazy voice from behind her, "All done?"

She jumped and turned around, scowling, "What are you doing there!"

"I was waiting for you to finish changing."

"Hmpf," Hinata grumbled before turning to head back to camp.

Naruto had been on the edge of his seat for twenty minutes waiting for the pair to come back. When he saw Hinata, he grabbed a bowl of ramen and jetted over to her. "Hinata-chan! Here! Have some ramen!"

Hinata was a little suprised to see Naruto so up in her face. Nevertheless, she took the bowl and followed Naruto back to where he was sitting. She sat down on a boulder next to him, and began eating her breakfast. She noticed Shikamaru was hanging his clothes to dry, along with... wait... Who told him he could wash her pajamas!

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A/N: Lizz: Rock on! Didntcha just love the ShikaHina fluff? It's kind of agitating that Shikamaru can be such an ass during the day though. Oh well, Naruto still luffs her! 

Rock Lee: Oo;;; More reviews please...


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: Lizz: Ahhh Thanks to everyone who reviewed! I shall now answer said reviews...

**Shy-Princess...** Yes! Shikamaru has a different side at night! Their relationship is going to get more complex very soon.

**Skinny... **Ah, yeah, I don't even know where the shika/hina came from, it just kinda, vomited out there! XD;

**Anime Girl987...** Naruto and Hinata's relationship will continue to be the main one in the fic, although Shikamaru... well, I don't want to give away plot points, sorry.

**Cookie aka Lala... **Ah! thank you for your kind words! I'm addicted to this story, so I will update whenever I can!

**meme... **Awe your nice! Please stick with the story then, because it gets even better!

**Naughty Sensei...** Yesh yesh, there will be a little something for you in later chapters. XDD!

And now, onto chaptah 3! By the way, character death!

Lee: grip... loosening... maybe i can slip out... almost...

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_Last Time..._

Naruto had been on the edge of his seat for twenty minutes waiting for the pair to come back. When he saw Hinata, he grabbed a bowl of ramen and jetted over to her. "Hinata-chan! Here! Have some ramen!"

Hinata was a little suprised to see Naruto so up in her face. Nevertheless, she took the bowl and followed Naruto back to where he was sitting. She sat down on a boulder next to him, and began eating her breakfast. She noticed Shikamaru was hanging his clothes to dry, along with... wait... Who told him he could wash her pajamas!

-Chapter Three-

**Uchiha Sasuke- Cold Hearted Bastard? Or Devoted Guardian?**

Naruto saw Hinata's screwed up expression, so he followed it over to Shikamaru, hanging laundry. He noticed Hinata's pajamas and underpants were there, which made him instantly mad. "Shikamaru!" he screamed, "What are you doing with Hinata's laundry?"

Shikamaru turned around, and laughed, "Well I don't think Hinata wants to sleep in dirty clothes, do you, Naruto?"

Naruto fumed at his leader's calmness about the subject, "You could have let her wash her own, you know!"

"Whatever..." Shikamaru replied, continuing to hang his own soaked clothes up.

Hinata put her hand on Naruto's shoulder, "It's fine, Naruto-kun."

Naruto calmed down, and settled for staring into the fire thinking of ways to kill Shikamaru. He felt stupid, felt like Hinata didn't like him anymore. But he was in love with Hinata, and could tell that Shikamaru was just using Hinata to get some sympathy for being the mastermind behind many bloody murders and government downfalls.

Shikamaru sat down on the boulder across from Naruto, and next to Hinata. He scooped himself a bowl of ramen and started eating it. The group sat in silence. Finally Sasuke spoke up, "So where are we getting Hyuuga's contacts?'

Shikamaru slurped a noodle and replied, "I know an underground guy who can get her fitted for cheap."

Hinata worried about this, thinking it wasn't too safe to be dealing with underground guys for medical needs, but she didn't speak up.

Shikamaru finished his ramen and announced he was taking Hinata to the doctor now, and for Sasuke and Naruto to stay behind and guard the camp. Besides, the clothes weren't finished drying.

So Hinata and Shikamaru got on their horses and set off through the forest. They weren't going very fast, so Hinata tried to start a conversation. Or was it an arguement? Either way, she said, "Shikamaru-san, I wish you wouldn't wash my laundry without asking me first."

He considered this a moment, and finally answered, "Sure, Hinata."

Hinata started to say, "Thanks-" but was cut off by Shikamaru's wild laughing.

"I can't imagine how angry you would've been if you'd known how many other times I've seen your underpants though!"

Hinata's face turned beet red, and she started screaming at him, "AH! You pervert! Don't go looking at my underwear!"

"How else was I supposed to know what size to buy you!" Shikamaru retaliated.

Hinata growled, and set her eyes forward. _'Filthy man...'_ she thought.

They arrived at the doctor's about twenty minutes later, Hinata still fuming. They got off their horses, tied them to the fence post, and walked over to a cellar door.

Shikamaru knocked on it. Soon a man emerged from underneath, looking dirty, and said, "Ah! Shikamaru! Please, come in."

The rebel leader took Hinata's hand and pulled her in behind him. The room they entered was sparkling clean, a suprise to the Hyuuga's ex-princess. Shikamaru lead her over to a chair and had Hinata sit in it. The doctor washed his hands, and put on some latex gloves. On his way over to Hinata, he grabbed a plastic tray of utensils and a stool.

The doctor set the tray on a counter near the chair and sat on the stool. He picked up a small bottle of eye drops and held Hinata's eye lids apart.

If there was one thing that Hinata hated, it was people doing anything to her eyes. So this was harder for her to do than most people. As the first drop hit her eye, she squeeled and pressed back against the chair.

Shikamaru could tell that she was going to be a baby about this, so he pulled a chair over beside Hinata, and held her hand. "Squeeze my hand if you feel uncomfortable at anytime," he instructed her.

Hinata nodded, and the doctor moved to the next eye. He held the lids apart, and squeezed the bottle. At the same time, Hinata tightened her grip on Shikamaru's hand. She must've gotten carried away, because she dug her nails into his soft palm. Shikamaru winced, but laughed a little, knowing he deserved it.

- - -

The pair walked out of the cellar an hour later. Hinata's eyes were sensitive to the sun since the point of the eye drops was to dilate them. Shikamaru helped her onto her horse and untied them from the fence. He then got on his own and they set off back to the camp. It was only about noon, but Hinata felt tired. Fatigued from the stress of the journey since day one, she felt herself slipping in and out of sleep. It was a 40 minute ride back to camp, and she couldn't stay awake that long. Shikamaru saw her head bobbing up and down. He stopped the horses, and turned to Hinata. "Hinata, do you want to sleep the rest of the way?" Shikamaru asked.

Hinata nodded, "But I'll fall off if I do."

"Switch to my horse, and hold on to me, then you can sleep," Shikamaru part suggested, part commanded her.

He moved the horses together, and Hinata clumsily moved over to his horse. She grunted, trying to get comfortable. Hinata wrapped her arms around Shikamaru's stomach, and rested her head on his shoulder blade, letting sleep overtake her.

- - -

When they arrived at camp, Naruto saw Hinata latched onto Shikamaru, and became jealous. Shikamaru instructed Naruto to help her down, causing her to wake up. Naruto complied, and Shikamaru got off soon after.

Hinata yawned, but she didn't have anymore time to be lazy, because Shikamaru announced that they were going to pack up and leave. Everyone started collecting pans, rolling up sleeping bags, and taking down the tents. Once everything was loaded onto the horses, Naruto took the lead, and left.

Sasuke was assigned that day to ride beside Hinata. Hinata never really much cared for Sasuke, he never seemed to like her, and if he did, he never made an effort to talk to her more than necessary. When they first met, she was scared shitless of him, the way he looked her up and down like a fresh piece of meat. His eyes could bore holes in steel, she remembered, he had such an intense and penetrating glare. But Sasuke had reversed, and taken to not saying a single word to her. But her view on Sasuke was about to change very soon.

They'd only been riding for a couple hours when Shikamaru commanded them all to freeze. A light swishing could be heard among the trees, a sound similar to the first time Sasuke had appeared. Suddenly, a blur of a man mid-air tackled Naruto off his horse.

The shinobi had brown hair, and byakugan eyes. He held a kunai to Naruto's throat, and screamed, "Release Princess Hinata or the Kyuubi dies!"

"Neji!" Hinata screamed back.

But Sasuke had already gotten off his horse and was trying to help Hinata down. She complied, and tears started forming at the edges of her eyes. She looked at Sasuke for any sign of what to do. But strangely, when she expected to see his emotionless face, she saw a soft smile across his thin lips. He patted her shoulder and gave her a little shove toward her cousin, Neji.

Hinata took a fighting stance, pulling a kunai out of a pouch on the horse had been riding. Neji loosened his grip on the blond hostage, leaving him slouch over, panting heavily. "Hinata-chan, what are you-"

Sasuke stopped him mid sentence by pinning him to the tree behind him with shuriken.

Neji screamed out, but again, was stopped by Sasuke, pushing his chest back and holding a kunai against his windpipe. "Get her out of here!" Sasuke commanded the other boys. Naruto scooped Hinata up onto a horse with him, holding her side-saddle as he took off out of the forest. Shikamaru followed, holding the tied reins of the two other horses.

"Now you'll stay the hell away from her, won't you Neji?" Sasuke breathed into his ear.

Neji let out a scream, and the Uchiha ripped the kunai across his throat, destroying an artery and squirting blood everywhere.

The shrill sound met Hinata's ears, and she started screaming too. Naruto clutched her tighter, and stopped his horse. Shikamaru slowed his to a halt as well. Naruto jumped from his horse and plopped down in the grass. Hinata gripped his shirt, soaking it with her tears. Naruto rubbed her back comfortingly, and kissed her head.

Sasuke emerged from the forest, his shirt rolled up in his arms. He tossed the shirt into the prairie grasses surrouding them. He ran over to Hinata, and knelt beside her.

"Hinata," he said, petting her hair.

Hinata looked up, her face was tear-stained and puffy. She sniffed, "Why did you kill him!" she screamed at him.

Sasuke pulled Hinata near him and hugged her. Naruto looked at Sasuke somewhat confused. "Hinata, I'm sorry," Sasuke whispered.

Hinata didn't hug him back. Sasuke explained why he killed him. There was no way Neji could continue to live as long as the rebel troops were in Konoha. Neji was skilled, he could take back the kingdom easily. After that he would send Anbu to find Hinata, and kill Shikamaru, Naruto, and himself, forcing her to become his queen and retake rule over Konoha.

Hinata was still mad, even if Sasuke was just trying to protect her in the long run.

Sasuke sighed, and handed her back over to Naruto. He rose to his feet, and got on his horse. Naruto helped Hinata back onto the one next to Sasuke, and then got on his.

"Naruto!" Shikamaru called to him, "Change of plans. We're heading north until I say different. We don't know if Neji brought any other shinobi with him."

- - -

The team rode until dark, when they stopped to set up campin the middle of a field with tall grasses. They didn't start a fire that night, instead they ate dry ramen and some of the food Kiba gave them. (A/N: Dry ramen is delicious! Just take the brick of ramen and put the seasoning on it, and it fills you up fast! Try it, and tell me what you think.)

Hinata wanted to share a tent with Sasuke that night. Shikamaru said it was fine, he understood she probably had some questions for him.

So when it was time for bed, Hinata crawled in with Sasuke. Neither of them got in the sleeping bag, though. Hinata pulled her legs up to her chest and looked at Sasuke, letting her eyes adjust to the dark. "Sasuke," she whispered.

"Hm?" he answered.

"You lost you're family too, huh?"

Sasuke paused, and finally answered, "My brother, Itachi, killed my entire family when I was little."

"Oh."

"He told me about this sharingan that he had, and I could develop it, but..."

Sasuke paused again, and sighed, "he said I had to kill my best friend to get it."

Hinata gasped a little, "Isn't Naruto-kun,"

"Yeah."

They stared at each other for a moment. Sasuke continued, "And I want to be the best, but Naruto is so important to me, so I'm stuck."

"Please don't, Sasuke," Hinata pleaded with him.

"Don't worry, when this is all over, I'm leaving. You'll never see me, and Naruto will be safe. I'm starting over after this." Sasuke picked at a thread in the sleeping bag, and stared at the ground.

Hinata reached up to touch Sasuke, and stroked his cheek, "Sasuke.."

Sasuke pulled away, "I'm going to sleep now," he said, crawling under the cover, facing away from where Hinata would sleep.

Hinata got in the sleeping bag as well, and faced away from Sasuke. She didn't let herself cry, remembering her promise to grow up.

* * *

A/N: Oh how I wish more people would read this, though I understand the odds are against me. I mean come on, T-rated Romance/Adventure with NaruHina? not a lot of business there. Oh well! Please review! 

--Lizz--


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: Thanks to everyone who is sticking with my story!

**Jazz-chan... **XD thanks! Yeah, theres something about that Gaara thing... but it won't really affect the story until later chapters.

**Anime Girl987... **Well, it definately won't have any SasuHina, she just felt really bad for him, and wanted to comfort him, it was totally innocent. But thanks for the advice-type-thingy...

**Imoutosan... **Yes! I knew you would like the dry ramen! It fills you up faster than cooked, too.

**Shy-Princess... **But, if Sasuke stays, then Naruto is in danger!

**Clover715... **Don't worry, I shall!

* * *

_Last Time..._

"Don't worry, when this is all over, I'm leaving. You'll never see me, and Naruto will be safe. I'm starting over after this." Sasuke picked at a thread in the sleeping bag, and stared at the ground.

Hinata reached up to touch Sasuke, and stroked his cheek, "Sasuke.."

Sasuke pulled away, "I'm going to sleep now," he said, crawling under the cover, facing away from where Hinata would sleep.

Hinata got in the sleeping bag as well, and faced away from Sasuke. She didn't let herself cry, remembering her promise to grow up.

-Chapter Four-

**Confess**

It was five a.m., the sun was barely peeking out over the forest. Sasuke was fully dressed, standing outside of the tent, waiting for Hinata to finish getting ready. She awkwardly clambered out of the tent, and looked at Sasuke, waiting for an instruction. He said nothing, and instead headed into the forest.

They wandered for about ten minutes, when finally the Uchiha stopped at a clearing. "Let's fight."

Hinata was hesitant, "Fight?"

Sasuke replied by turning quickly and landing a punch squarely against the side of her face. Hinata stumbled backward, rubbing her face. Sasuke came at her, one arm in front of him, the other formed into a solid fist at his side, ready to strike.

Hinata'd never used the Byakugan before. Well, she had, but not really knowing so. Neji had talked to her about it a few times, but she didn't really pay attention to what he said until now. She focused on Sasuke, dodging his blows, trying to adjust to this new Byakugan-vision. She could see his dark form, lined with little passages where his abundant chakra flowed. At last, Hinata found a chance to attack, and took it, slamming an open palm against his shoulder.

Sasuke flinched back, feeling his chakra arteries tighten. His shoulder tightened, and Sasuke could sense a bruise rising to his skin's surface. He accessed his sharingan, and stared into Hinata's eyes, trying to copy the Byakugan from her. Gotcha.

He jumped back, and she copied, both trying to regain their stamina. Hinata now appeared as the same dark form as Sasuke, with hundreds of little chakra lines appearing, looking like a spaghetti skeleton. He quickly adjusted to this fighting style, rendering a kick to Hinata's upper ribs.

She coughed, sending a trickle of blood from her mouth. Countering, she slammed the side of her hand into Sasuke's neck, making him fall. Sasuke rolled out of the way, and tripped Hinata up. She landed on her face, and he pinned her arms to her back. Both were panting and covered in sweat.

Hinata finally spoke, "You win."

Sasuke frowned. He thought this might be a better fight than just that! Hinata really needed some endurance trainng if she hoped to beat him ever.

-----

"Shikamaru!" Naruto nudged the leader, who replied by groaning.

"Whaaat..." He turned over, meeting an angry blond's face.

"Sasuke and Hinata are gone!"

Shikamaru sighed, and grumbled, "Probably training..."

Naruto crawled back out of the tent, and walked over to a nearby tree, examining it. He climbed it, and planned on waiting for the pair to get back.

Shikamaru emerged from the tent sometime not long after. He stretched, and started boiling a pot of water.

-----

Sasuke and Hinata were walking back to camp, rubbing their bruises gently.

"You did good," Sasuke stated, earning a shy smile from the girl, "for a beginner."

They arrived at the campsite to see an angry Naruto jump from a tree. He stormed toward Sasuke, fists balled. "Where were you! Why were you taking Hinata out in the middle of nowhere to do God knows what? Did you hurt her?"

Sasuke glared at him, and finally answered, "I was training with her, Naruto."

Naruto's face softened a bit, "You didn't hurt her did you?"

"Just a few kicks and punches, dobe."

Hinata blushed, rubbing her side. Naruto glanced over Sasuke's shoulder, noticing this. "Hinata-chan! Are you okay?"

He pushed Sasuke over, and hugged her, making Hinata jump a little.

Sasuke growled, and walked over to were Shikamaru was, taking a seat on a log next to him. "Baka usuratonkatchi..."

Shikamaru laughed, shaking his head.

"What's so funny, Nara?"

"It's so obvious," Shikamaru grinned, "that you like him."

Sasuke's face got red, and he punched him directly in the arm, "You shut up sicko!"

Shikamaru stopped laughing, and rubbed his now sore arm, "Sorry, but it's true isn't it?"

"Well, I..." Sasuke started, but paused, looking over at Naruto, still clinging onto Hinata, asking her 'where it hurt.' He looked back at Shikamaru, who was taking the boiling kettle off the heat, "I don't have a chance, so just don't bring it up."

Shikamaru poured Sasuke a cup of tea, and handed it to him, "Don't worry about it, man."

* * *

A/N: I apologize SOOO much for the short chapter! I just feel like I really needed to update so you guys didn't think the story was dead. It's not, it's just getting written slowly.

Oh, and hehe, yeah, I am a SasuNaru fangirl as well as a NaruHina fangirl. But please don't worry, the story will stay NaruHina, just with some onesided SasuNaru. Heh, sorry if it offends anyone. I know you didn't come here looking for shounen-ai. XP

Well, thank you for reading!

--Lizz--


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